(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-40B-1A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Dean & Co. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 40B-1A. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. The 17 cataloged varieties for Dean & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 40B-1A) is common for this merchant. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 17 cataloged varieties, Dean & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 40B-1A